Orbiting toy



April 25, 1967 R- T. MASTERS 3,315,963

ORBITING TOY Filed Dec. 25, 1964 Roy T MAJTf/Pd INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,315,963 ORBITING TOY Roy T. Masters, 13451-B Riverside Drive, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 91403 Filed Dec. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 420,662 9 Claims. (Cl. 273-95) This invention relates to an orbiting toy and more par ticularly to a toy which is operable to keep an object suspended by relative movement between the object and a series of rings mounted on a hoop.

At present, there are a variety of toys in which a hoop passes through a number of rings and the rings are moved while the hoop is held by the hands. By the present invention, the rings are rigidly secured to the hoop at spaced intervals and project outwardly from the hoop. An object, small enough to pass through the rings has a plurality of fins or wings extending therefrom and the fins engage each ring after the object has passed through since the spread of the fins is greater than the size of the hole in each ring. The weight of the object pulls the fins through each ring by reducing the spread of the fins and the drag produced by the fins keeps the object suspended as one ring after another is moved over the object by rotation of the main hoop with their hands. The skill of the operator of the top is determined by the number of rings which can be moved past the object before it falls away from the hoop. The object can be made in any desired shape, such as a rocket, a bird or a clown, in order to interest the operator in the object itself.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an orbiting toy which comprises an object which is suspended by continual movement of spaced rings past the object.

Another object of the invention is to provide an orbiting toy having a hoop from which projects a plurality of spaced rings which serve to suspend an object by passing successively around the object while the object is under the downward pull of gravity.

Another object of the invention is to provide an orbiting toy having a plurality of spaced rings through which an object can pass, said object having flexible fins or wings which engage each ring and retard the object against downward movement under the pull of gravity.

These and other objects of the invention not specifically set forth above will become readily apparent from the accompanying description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the orbiting toy showing the object suspended in space during hand rotatation of the hoop in the counterclockwise direction;

FIGURE 2 is a partial elevational view similar to FIG- URE 1 wherein the rings have been moved somewhat upwardly;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view from the right side of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal section along line 4-4 of FIGURE 1 illustrating the fins in engagement with a ring;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section along line 5-5 of FIG- URE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view of a modified object which is in the shape of a rocket;

FIGURE 7 is a modified orbiting toy which is rotatably supported by a stand and rotated by a hand crank or a motor;

FIGURE 8 is an end elevational view taken from the right side of FIGURE 7; and

FIGURE 9 is a partial side elevational view showing a modified object having longer fins.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration, the orbiting toy 10 has a main hoop 11 which is in the form of a circular ring. A

.17 of FIGURE 1.

number of small rings 12 are located in planes transverse to the hoop and project outwardly from the hoop at equally spaced intervals 13 around the hoop. Each ring is rigidly attached to the outer surface of the hoop at location 14 by means of cementing, welding or other suitable types of attachment. In one form of the invention, the hoop 11 is about one and one-half feet in diameter and is formed of half inch diameter plastic rod while the rings 12 are about one and one-half inches in diameter and formed of one-quarter inch diameter plastic rod.

An orbiting object 16 can be in the shape of a ball which will pass through rings 12 and three fins 17 are attached to one side of the ball by any suitable attaching means, such as cement. The fins can be constructed of flexible plastic strips which have a permanent curl in the ends 17a thereof so that the normal spread of the outer ends of thefins covers an area greater than that of the individual rings 12 (see FIGURE 2) although spread of the intermediate portion 17b of the fins covers less area than the rings. In general, the fins can be fabricated of any material which takes a permanent set and is flexible enough to be pulled through the rings to produce a drag on the object 16 when it is suspended at the side of hoop 11 under the downward pull of gravity. Of course, the degree of flexibility of the fins will be determined by the weight of the object 16 since the heavier object, the less flexibility of the fins is desired to produce increased drag on the object.

In operation of the toy, the hoop 11 is held at one side by one hand and the object 16 is dropped through a ring 12a at the opposite side. As the object then falls through this ring, the hoop is rotated counterclockwise by both hands as illustrated in FIGURE 1 to present another ring 12b to the object 16. As illustrated in FIG- URE-l, the object experiences the most drag as the weight of the object pulls the curve fin ends 17a through ring 12a and as illustrated in FIGURE 2, the object experiences less drag just after the fin ends 17a have passed through ring 12a and the intermediate portion 17b of the fins are located with the next ring 12b. By continuous rotation of thehoop, the object can be maintained in a position at the side of the hoop and the number of rings which are passed around the object before it falls away from the hoop is a measure of the skill of the operator.

As illustrated in FIGURE 9, object 16 is attached to three fins 20 which are considerably longer than the fins Because of this increase in length, the curled ends 20a are just passing through a ring which is two rings above the ring 12d through which the object has just passed. It is therefore apparent that the fins attached to the object can vary in length and still produce the necessary drag on the object 16 by engagement with the rings. As illustrated in FIGURE 5, a bell 22 can be attached to object 16 in order to produce a noise while the object is being suspended by rings 12. In the alternative, the bell could be placed? inside the object 16. The shape of the object can be varied to simulate various devices, such as the rocket 25 shown in FIGURE 6. Four fins 26 are attached to the rocket and are arranged in opposed pairs with each fin having a a curled end 26a. The fins 26 engage the rings 12 in this same manner as the fins -17 so as to keep the rocket suspended during rotation of hoop 11. In general, the number of fins can be varied to produce the desired appearance and support for the object to which the fins are attached.

Instead of rotating the hoop .11 with the hands, the hoop can be provided with a central hub 30 which is supported by three struts 31 attached to the hoop, and a shaft 32 is attached to the hub for rotating the hoop (see FIGURES 7 and 8). The shaft is rotatably mounted in upright frames 33 and 34 on opposite sides of the hoop and a crank 35 is connected to one end of the shaft so that the hoop can be manually rotated. Also, a motor 36 is mounted on frame 34 and connected with the other end of shaft 32 so that the hoop can be rotated by the motor when desired. The shaft 32 is rotated, whether by hand or by the motor, at a speed which will keep an object, such as 16 or 25, suspended at one side of the hoop. Thus, the orbiting toy can be used as an unattended display device when it is motor driven. If the size of the object and fins is small as compared with the diameter of hoop 11, more than one object can be suspended, one above the other, during rotation of hoop 11 and these objects could be joined together if desired. The hoop can assume various shapes, such as a straight rod which mounts the rings, one above the other, and rings can assume other shapes than circular so long as a drag is produced by the fins which are attached to the object. The fins can be of different lengths and a plurality of fins can be located one over the other. Obviously, the rings could be supported at the end of fingers radiating from a central hub.

The present invention provides a toy which can be economically fabricated from light weight plastic and which is safe for children to operate. In addition, the top provides a basis for competition between operators which increases the enjoyment derived from the toy. The top requires no batteries springs, magnets, etc. and can be used either indoors or outdoors. Various other modifications are contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An orbiting toy comprising:

an elongated member;

a plurality of smaller members having holes therethrough and spaced apart around said larger member;

each of said smaller members being secured to said larger member and lying in a plane substantially transverse to said larger member;

an object smaller than the holes in said smaller members in order to pass therethrough; and

flexible means extending from said object and normally having a spread larger than said holes, said flexible means being flexed while passing through said holes as said smaller members are moved over said object while said object is subject to gravity,

the drag of said flexible means on said smaller members keeping said object suspended.

2. An orbiting toy comprising:

a hoop;

a plurality of rings spaced around the outer surface of said hoop and secured to said hoop, each ring lying in a plane substantially transverse to said hoop and projecting outwardly from said hoop;

an object smaller than the holes in said rings in order to pass through said rings; and

flexible fin means attached at one side of said object and normally having a spread wider than said holes;

said fin means being pulled through said rings by said object as said hoop is rotated to move the rings upwardly over said object while said object remains suspended against downward movement under the pull of gravity.

3. An orbiting toy as defined in claim 2 wherein said fin means comprises a plurality of strips each having one end attached to said object and the other end curled so that the spread of said curled ends is wider than said holes in said rings.

4. An orbiting toy as defined in claim 3 wherein said strips are longer than the distance between successive rings.

5. An orbiting toy as defined in claim 2 having shaft means secured to said hoop for supporting said hoop, and means for rotating said shaft at a speed to keep said object suspended.

6. An orbiting toy as defined in claim 3 wherein said object comprises a spherical ball and said fin means comprises at least three flexible plastic strips.

7. An orbiting toy as defined in claim 6 wherein said fin means comprises flexible strip means having one end attached to said object and the other end curled so that the spread of said curled end is wider than said holes.

8. An orbiting toy as defined in claim 3 wherein said object comprises a model rocket and said fin means comprises four plastic strips.

9. An orbiting toy comprising:

support means;

a plurality of members having openings therethrough and spaced apart on said support means with the holes located transversely to a continuous path;

an object smaller than said holes in order to pass through said holes and move along said path; and

flexible means extending from said object and normal 1y having a spread larger than said holes, said flexible means being flexed while passing through said holes while said object moves along said path in order to place a drag on the movement of said object.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

R. F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner, 

9. AN ORBITING TOY COMPRISING: SUPPORT MEANS; A PLURALITY OF MEMBERS HAVING OPENINGS THERETHROUGH AND SPACED APART ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS WITH THE HOLES LOCATED TRANSVERSELY TO A CONTINUOUS PATH; AN OBJECT SMALLER THAN SAID HOLES IN ORDER TO PASS THROUGH SAID HOLES AND MOVE ALONG SAID PATH; AND FLEXIBLE MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID OBJECT AND NORMALLY HAVING A SPREAD LARGER THAN SAID HOLES, SAID FLEXIBLE MEANS BEING FLEXED WHILE PASSING THROUGH SAID HOLES WHILE SAID OBJECT MOVES ALONG SAID PATH IN ORDER TO PLACE A DRAG ON THE MOVEMENT OF SAID OBJECT. 